29 SEP 2008
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*Teen survives, 4 killed in medevac crash
*NTSB INVESTIGATING EMS HELICOPTER CRASH IN MARYLAND
*Chinese A320 Assembly Line Goes Into Service
*Pilots warn of laser beam crash
*Man arrested at Denver airport after bomb threat
*CAAC, Airbus sign MOU on safety cooperation
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Teen survives, 4 killed in medevac crash
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Maryland State Police personnel, a medical
technician and a teenager were killed when a medical evacuation helicopter
crashed Sunday in suburban Maryland, police said.
Paramedics carry one of the passengers on a gurney after the Saturday night
helicopter crash.
The Maryland State Police helicopter crashed early Sunday morning, killing
four of the five people on board, said Col. Terrence Sheridan,
superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
The state police identified those killed as: pilot Stephen Bunker, a retired
trooper; Trooper 1st Class Mickey Lippy, who was acting as flight paramedic;
Tanya Mallard, an emergency medical technician with the Waldorf, Maryland,
Rescue Squad; and patient Ashley Younger, 17.
Patient Jordan Wells, 18, survived the crash, according to state police. She
was at a hospital in critical condition, Sheridan said.
Federal and state authorities were trying to determine what caused the
crash, Sheridan said.
The helicopter was on its way to Prince George's Hospital with Younger and
Wells, who had been critically injured in a Charles County, Maryland, car
crash. The helicopter went down in a wooded area on a park trail in the
Capitol Heights/Ritchie communities, Sheridan said.
Sheridan characterized the crash as the worst in the history of the police
department.
"This is a devastating tragedy," he said. "We have had crashes before but
never with four dead. This is the worst."
The pilot radioed that he was going back to Andrews Air Force Base to avoid
bad weather just before midnight, Brady said. Two ambulances were sent to
Andrews to meet the helicopter and carry the patients to the trauma center.
But radio contact with the helicopter was lost and the wreckage was found
after a two-hour search, authorities said.
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NTSB INVESTIGATING EMS HELICOPTER CRASH IN MARYLAND
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating this morning's
crash of an Emergency Medical Services helicopter in the Maryland suburbs of
Washington, D.C.
At about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, September 28, a Maryland State Police helicopter
crashed into a wooded area in District Heights, Maryland, approximately 3
miles north of Andrews Air Force Base. It is reported that of the 5 persons
aboard, 4 received fatal injuries.
NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Corky Smith is the Investigator in
Charge. NTSB Member Debbie Hersman will serve as principal spokesperson for
the on-scene investigation. Keith Holloway is the on-scene press officer.
He can be reached on his cell phone, 202-557-1350.
NTSB Press Office: 202-314-6100
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Chinese A320 Assembly Line Goes Into Service
Airbus CEO Has High Hopes For Increased Industrial Relations With China
Airbus took another big step toward domination of the global large aircraft
marketplace Sunday, by opening its third final assembly line for the A320 in
Tianjin, China.
Attending the opening ceremonies were Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Airbus
Chief Executive Officer Thomas Enders, and Chinese Party Chief Zhang Gaoli.
"With the final assembly line here in Tianjin, we deepen and expand our
industrial relationship, which is a key pillar of the internationalization
strategy of Airbus," said Enders.
Built in a slim 15 months, the production facility represents a joint
venture between Airbus and Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment
Company, Xinhua reports. With production to identical standards as
European-made Airbus aircraft, the state-of-the-art assembly line "has
integrated technologies from both lines in France and Germany," Enders said.
The line is capable of building both the A319 and A320, with the first A320
slated for completion during the summer of 2009. The plant hopes to ramp up
production to complete 44 planes annually by the year 2011.
Airbus estimates reveal the intense growth period anticipated in China over
the next 20 to 30 years, predicting a need in excess of 3,000 planes over
the period, including 180 super jumbo airliners.
Airbus purchased $70 million US of outsourced materials from China in 2007
alone, and has said it was hoping to triple that amount to more than $200
million US by 2010. Enders further announced "a new goal of one billion US
dollars of annual sourcing from Chinese companies in 2020."
China is also developing its own jumbo passenger aircraft technology, having
built such a facility last May in Shanghai. "China is an important -- an
increasingly important -- part of the global aviation family," Enders told
Xinhua.
FMI: www.airbus.com
aero-news.net
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Pilots warn of laser beam crash
Dozens of pilots have been temporarily blinded by laser pointers when
landing
Airline pilots have warned a serious crash is "likely" unless people are
stopped from shining laser beams into the cockpits of planes during landing.
The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) said beams dazzled pilots
and users were "effectively playing Russian roulette" with passengers'
lives.
Dozens of incidents have occurred during 2008, with some pilots handing
controls over to co-pilots, Balpa said.
A pilot was temporarily blinded by a laser at Cardiff Airport in August.
Planes have also been targeted while landing at Newcastle, Exeter, Norwich
and Heathrow airports.
Dave Reynolds, flight safety officer for Balpa, said a pilot would know his
aircraft had been targeted when a spot of light began skipping around the
flight deck.
They think it's just another Nintendo game, but this is not a game, it's
not a cyber-game, it's extremely dangerous, and it does need to stop
Dave Reynolds, Balpa
"It is a serious distraction at a critical phase of the flight and it is
something the authorities need to take very seriously indeed," he said.
Laser incidents were becoming an "increasing nuisance" and it was "only a
matter of time before an accident occurs", he said.
A pilot's ability to see can be impaired by flash blindness and pilots
affected should go for a hospital check-up to ensure they have suffered no
lasting eye damage, he went on to say.
'Not Nintendo'
Powerful laser pointers can be bought over the internet for £40.
The Health Protection Agency said class 3B lasers should not be sold to the
general public because they were too powerful for using as pointing devices
and could cause serious eye injuries.
Balpa said it had advised police forces to be on the look-out for people
hanging round near airports at night with lasers.
"People don't realise - they think it's funny," a spokesman said.
"They think it's just another Nintendo game, but this is not a game, it's
not a cyber-game, it's extremely dangerous, and it does need to stop.
"It's like Russian roulette. So far the perpetrators have got away with it,
but one day that cartridge won't be a blank. You're playing with the lives
of hundreds of people in the air," he added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7641453.stm
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Man arrested at Denver airport after bomb threat
DENVER (AP) — Officials at the Denver airport say a passenger is in custody
after claiming to have explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane.
Airport spokesman Chuck Cannon says no explosives were found Saturday after
the plane was towed away from the terminal and the man arrested.
Cannon says the plane was leaving the gate when the man said he had
explosives in his luggage. Northwest spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo Shannon
says about 140 people were on the Minneapolis-bound flight.
Passengers were re-screened before continuing on their way.
The situation comes a day after a false bomb threat forced nearly 100
passengers off a Northwest jet waiting for takeoff in Detroit.
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CAAC, Airbus sign MOU on safety cooperation
BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Europe-based aircraft mogul Airbus signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on safety cooperation with the Civil
Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)on Sunday.
The MOU covers a five-year cooperation program in the areas of rules and
regulations training for Chinese aviation authorities, aviation research
institutes and colleges and maintenance support for airlines.
The program also includes a "train the trainer" scheme for Chinese teachers
on aviation technology and industry.
This MOU follows an earlier Safety Cooperation Agreement that was signed in
2002.
The MOU was signed by Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders and Li Jiaxiang,
head of CAAC.
"Hundreds of millions of people fly on Airbus aircraft every year, and their
safety is our top priority", said Tom Enders at the signing ceremony.
"Within this unique partnership, regulators, operators and Airbus, as
manufacturer, work closely together to enhance the safety standards in
Chinese civil aviation even further. We are proud to continue the sharing of
our experiences together between CAAC and Airbus. With the signature of
today's agreement, the cooperation between Airbus and its Chinese partners
will be an enhanced and continuous action."
With the common understanding that civil aviation safety is of paramount
importance and taking into account the quickly growing Chinese aviation
industry as well as the shortage of highly skilled resources, Airbus and
CAAC have set the common objective to further improve the level of aviation
safety in China.
In addition, this could also help increase the eco-efficiency of the sector,
since optimizing route management, for example, would allow for important
fuel cost and therefore emissions reduction.
Airbus and CAAC have already developed and launched various programs and
projects, which have contributed to improving the safety of aircraft
operation, inspectors' training, maintenance enhancement and aircraft fleet
standardization since 2002 when the cooperation first started.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/28/content_10126438.htm
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